


Becoming Someone Else

by iam_spock (FanficbyLee)



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mirror Universe, Section 31, Terran Empire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-25 01:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14966321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficbyLee/pseuds/iam_spock
Summary: This is my version of how the Buran is destroyed and how entwined Lorca's story is with Section 31. His reasons for wanting revenge on Georgiou, and how he deals with meeting the people he lost to the Emperor's anger and by crossing universes.This story is dedicated to Robin.





	1. The Rescue

He came to groggily. Eyes clamped shut to avoid the glare of the bright lights that he could see through the lids. Aches, bruises, and pain were expected after what he’d been through before beaming up to his ship, the _Buran—_ except it wasn’t— he’d jumped from the frying pan into some twisted fire. His uniform was wrong. His blackened armor gone, and the badge at his heart was upside down.

Nothing made sense, and Gabriel hated when he couldn’t figure out what was going on. He was a master tactician, a manipulator of kings, and now he was off balance and completely lost. The lanky man rolled over on the thin bed afforded to prisoners on the Federation Starship _Buran_. Never in his life did he expect to see the other side of reality.

Of course, he knew it was possible. Working at the Emperor’s side, he’d see the files on the _Defiant_ and learned of the advanced weapons Empress Sato had stolen from the future. He knew what they were capable of—and not. If he’d beamed onto the wrong ship in the Empire, he’d be dead, but not here.

They accepted him at first. He’d done his best to fit in, but there were too many people on the crew he didn’t recognize and those he did were wrong. His own Starfleet files were like a joke. And there were too many aliens on the _Buran_ —wearing uniforms as if they had the same rights as a Terran. It made his head spin

His first officer noticed it first. Talking with the doctor behind his back, in a manner worthy of a Terran, they’d forced him to have a physical where they discovered his eyes were different than theirs. Lorca didn’t think it would matter, but it did. He had more scars than he should, and no one knew what an Agonizer mark looked like. They knew he wasn’t who he said he was.

Gabriel didn’t know how it happened. The Buran Science Officer thought it had something to do with the ion storm they’d been caught in, in both universes. Lorca thought it was insane that it was his body but not his uniform. _What the hell?_

He’d tried to run. Steal a shuttlecraft. Do anything he could to get off the ship. He needed to think, to find a way back home, but before he could reach the hanger bay he’d been stunned. STUNNED! Now he was in the brig while Commander Pennyworth tried to send word to Starfleet that he was an impostor.

“Captain Lorca.”

He knew the voice, and he finally opened his eyes, draping his legs over the edge of the bed as he took a solid look at the officer standing on the other side of the forcefield. Her uniform was trimmed in copper, marking her as an Operations officer, but she wasn’t with Engineering. On the ISS _Buran_ she’d been his first officer. “Ellen? Landry?”

“Yes, sir.” She came closer, and beyond her he noticed the on-duty desk was empty. “I’ve come with a proposition for you.”

“I’m hardly dressed for dinner and a movie,” he joked. In his universe she was one of his most trusted officers. His right hand, and she was loyal to a fault. But in this one…he was surprised she wasn’t standing their with a tribble and ice cream.

“Put this on.” Landry palmed the controls to the brig and passed him a clean Federation uniform. “While you change, I’ll tell you my plan, which I’m sure you’ll agree to.”

Taking the uniform, he quickly stripped out of the off-duty fatigues they’d dressed him when he was unconscious all the while thinking about how easy it’d be for him to overcome her and escape. He knew how she fought. He and his Landry sparred nearly as often as he did with Tyler. _No, Gabriel, don’t go there. Think don’t feel. Pretend you’re a damned Vulcan._

“If you attack me, you’ll lose your only chance at returning to your universe.” That caught his attention as he tugged on the tight blue uniform, trimmed in bright, shiny gold symbols of their Federation. The badge he noted had his name and serial number etched into the back of it. It was a weighty piece of jewelry that wasn’t nearly as pretty as his Imperial badge.

“You’re going to help me get home?” he asked finishing up and stepping out of the cell, which was when he noticed the on-duty officer unconscious behind the desk. Standing up straighter, he took a better look at Landry. “Are you Terran?”

“Not in the way you think,” she replied, handing him a type-1 phaser. “I’m with a black-ops division in Starfleet, called Section 31, Captain, and we want you to join us. I think you’ll discover that our methods and temperament are a better match to yours.”

_Now this was new._

_And interesting._

“Tell me more, Ellen. I’m assuming we have enough time before they notice I’m not in my cell?” he asked as she took him through the door without a care in the world.

“We’ve got plenty of time, Captain.” Her smile was positively wicked nodding toward the crumpled forms of the _Buran’s_ crew. “I set off the intruder suppression system. They’ll sleep like babies until we’re long gone.”

A short time later, Lorca was seated in the co-pilot’s seat of a shuttlecraft while Landry set their course for the closest Starbase. Lorca watched the _Buran_ , waiting with his knuckles going white for someone on the ship to wake up and beam them off or lock on a tractor beam.

“Don’t worry about it, Captain. They won’t be following us. You’re free.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the Buran exploded, sending shrapnel and burning gases into the blackness of space. “We’ll blame the Klingons, of course, or you will. I wasn’t officially part of the _Buran’s_ crew. They’ve got no record of me, and since I jammed communications, anything they were sending to Starfleet about you is long gone too.”

Gabriel stared as the fires quickly faded away in the vacuum of space. “You killed the crew…” he understood how keeping a secret worked. He did. But to meet someone from the Federation willing to do it was a shock. It was cold blooded. It was so very Terran. “So tell me about Section 31 and why you want me badly enough to destroy the _Buran_.”


	2. Liar's Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorca is brought to Starbase 24 and the lies continue.

It’d been three days since he’d been ‘rescued’ by another Federation ship and brought to Starbase 24. He hadn’t been on the starbase that long. Landry ditched him along the way, leaving him with the shuttle from the _Buran_ after doing some careful sabotage, including having the ship that beamed her out apply some disruptor damage from a small stolen Klingon ship to its exterior.

His heart pounded when they did it, and he cursed the lackeys in their pathetic version of Starfleet that didn’t arm their shuttlecraft. The words he’d used about Landry were colorful to say the least, and he was cursing her entire bloodline when her voice came over the com telling him to calm down.

“I can’t be there when you’re rescued, Captain,” she said before the little ship cloaked. “I’ll find you in a few days. Keep to your story. I’m sure you’re a good liar and can pull this off.”

Lorca was alone for a 31.5 hours, the shuttle was dead in space with his emergency beacon and distress call repeating over and over again. The Terran decided his brand-spanking new uniform wouldn’t do when they found him floating and used a few rough edges on the broken panels to cut into the fabric and into his skin. He didn’t go deep enough to bleed to death, of course, but he needed to look the part.

“Life support failure imminent,” the computer chimed in hours before they found him, and his swearing began anew.

“Time left?” he asked.

“Nine hours, forty-seven minutes.”

“Wonderful. I’m not terribly impressed by this rescue.” He didn’t raise his voice. What was the point? They’d either find him before he died or not. And shouting would only use up more of his limited air. He wasn’t sure which would be worse: freezing to death or suffocating. Neither was his preferred method. As a warrior, he’d much rather die in battle with a weapon in his hand and the taste of the enemy on his tongue, whether that enemy was human or alien.

“Computer do you have access to my personal logs?”

“Affirmative. Enter your personal password.”

His eyebrows rose over his blue-eyes as he let out a small snort. Apparently, the version of him in the Federation was a paranoid bastard too, and hopefully, he used the same passwords.  His fingers brushed over the smooth computer interface, typing in his password with practiced ease. _At least typing’s the same in both universes._

“Access granted.”

“Go back three months and begin.” It was weird as hell to hear his voice saying words he’d never spoken. He knew he didn’t have time to listen to them all, but it was a good start to building his new life. When he was found, he’d have more time to fill in the blanks, and he hoped his counterpart’s personal logs held more information than the official logs of the _Buran’s_ captain.

He knew his did. One did not log everything into the official record in the Empire, and if you kept personal logs at all, they had to be locked away far from prying eyes. He’d actually kept most of his on paper—of all things.

There was no mention of Ash Tyler of any rank the other’s personal logs. When asked, the computer came up empty. He already knew the Federation version was missing in action and assumed dead like anyone else the Klingons captured, but he’d still hoped they’d crossed paths. And the only mention of a personal relationship was between Lorca and Admiral Katrina Cornwell. _That could prove useful, but I’ll need to be careful. Couldn’t hurt to have an admiral in your pocket._

“At least it wasn’t Burnham,” he let that slip out even though he’d worked hard not to say anything out loud that the computer could record. Paranoia was a way of life for him, and he had no intention of being caught again because he was sloppy.

“Computer access personnel records of Admiral Katrina Cornwell.” He knew of her from the Empire, but it was becoming obvious that no one fit into the molds he was used to—except Landry. Even Tyler’s records painted him as the perfect example of a Starfleet Officer devoted to the ideals of the Federation. _No wonder he was dead_.

Before he continued his crash course in the Federation and Gabriel Lorca, he dug out a blanket from the survival gear and wrapped it around his frame. His breath was starting to mist when he exhaled, and a shiver ran up his spine while he tore open a foil package of rations. They were bland, something to keep you alive, not something to enjoy—pretty much the same as home.

Burnham’s records weren’t as big a surprise as he expected. She was still with Philippa but her being raised by a Vulcan was a shock. Her mutiny was standard operating procedure, which he knew from experience. The only difference was the motivation. His Burnham wanted to take the Emperor’s throne. This one wanted to save her Captain and crew, and she’d failed at both, starting a war in the process.

_They are all so fucking noble. Can I learn to be like that?_

“Computer give me information about Section 31.”

“There is no record of a Section 31 within Starfleet.”

“I’m shocked. Where is Commander Ellen Landry posted?”

“Ellen Landry is the Chief of Security on the USS _Discovery_ NCC-1031.”

“ _Discovery_ …Tilly,” He opened his mouth to ask about the ship, but he was interrupted by the comm alerting him to an incoming transmission. A quick exchange from captain to captain, and he was beamed aboard another Federation ship and whisked to their sickbay.

***

He’d been checked out by Starbase 24’s doctors, where they also tried to convince him to replace his eyes. Forced to go to counseling sessions where he told the therapists what they wanted to hear—basically he said the opposite of what he’d normally say. Tears glistened in his eyes, brought on by the constant bright lights, whenever he spoke of the _Buran_ and his lost crew.  As it was, Gabriel had no idea if his crew in the Empire had escaped Georgiou’s wrath or not. If they hadn’t, he hoped they were as dead as the crew Landry sacrificed.

“You are the only survivor, Gabriel,” the counsellor said, his voice sounded tired, and it was obvious to Lorca the man was tired of the war. Gabriel was thankful he was human. He couldn’t stand the thought of bearing his soul to an alien—even if he was lying through his teeth.

“I know,” he answered, letting his voice grow louder as he spoke. “That wasn’t my plan. I thought we had time. Time to hide in the storm. To use escape pods and the shuttles…I still don’t know why I was the only one far enough away when the self-destruct went off. You don’t think I planned that, do you!”

“Of course not, Captain.” His guilt, or Landry’s, wasn’t something the man could even begin to conceive. No Federation captain would sacrifice his ship without dying with it, and to be honest, Gabriel would’ve stayed with his _Buran_ too, if not for the transporter accident. Hell, he’d been on his way back when it happened. The lie tasted like shit in his mouth, but it was the only story he could tell.

“I’m sorry.” He sat back, taking a sip from the glass of water he’d been given. “I hate what happened.” Not a lie.

“I’m clearing you for duty, Captain Lorca. It’ll be a few days or longer before Starfleet decides what to do with you. Until then, try to relax. Find your center, and if you need to talk, you know where to find me.” The man signed his name with a flourish on the digital document, and then sent it to Lorca’s PADD, both of their records, and onto Starfleet.

“That I do, doctor.” Getting to his feet, he reached across the desk and shook the man’s hand before leaving the office. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”


End file.
